Aceh Is the Next Stop!

June 12, 2015 was the biggest day for PLN 44 students as we would celebrate the End Program of PLN 44, marking the finish of our 6-month program. And the most anticipated thing of the event was the work placements for all of us. All of 344 students of PLN 44 were waiting for the announcement after the Friday pray. The event, held at Aston Hotel Palembang, was attended by the key people of PLN and the invited mentor and co-mentor. The event was also filled with the giving reward to the winners of Best OJT Project, Best Student, Best STO Innovation, and the closing speech of the Chief of Administration of PT. PLN (Persero). At 14.00 WIB, Mr. Joko Agung and the employees of Udiklat Palembang prepared the presentation slide and the first one to announce was who would be placed at DISTRIBUSI BALI… Yuppp, and only one person to get placed in Bali, and the luckiest one was Aditya Yoga. All of us were a little bit jealous to him as he would work in one of the most beautiful islands of the world, Bali. And then continued to the placements in other areas, oh yes… in fact, all students of PLN 44 were spreaded to throughout areas of PLN in Indonesia, from Aceh to Papua. Crying, sadness, surprising, enjoy, happy, and almost fainted, I think… the mixed feeling that we’re feeling at that time. Fortunately, I got the work placement in PLN Wilayah Aceh, the westernmost of Indonesia region. Although Aceh is neighbouring with my homestate, North Sumatera, but I had never visited Aceh before. The things that I minded at that time about Aceh were GAM, marijuana, Islami, and Sabang!!! There are 22 students of PLN 44 placed in Aceh, including me. Most of us who were placed in Aceh came from North Sumatera and Central Java provinces. There are 8 students of North Sumatera: Me, Akbar, Bambang, Fauzy, Novriza, Atikah, Irfan, and Rahmad. We, except Fauzy, departed to Banda Aceh by Sempati Star bus on June 20, 2015 night from Medan. The trip took more than 14 hours, fortunately the bus was exclusive, very neat, wide, and had more space… no congestion inside. The atmosphere of Islam had been felt since before our departure, started by praying in Islam way before departing to Banda Aceh. To be honest, the road from Medan to Banda Aceh is very smooth, and Aceh simply has one of the best road in Indonesia. On the way, we passed through the cities of Binjai, Kuala Simpang, the small towns in Aceh, Lhokseumawe, Jantho, and finally we arrived at the bus terminal of Banda Aceh. The officials of PLN Wilayah aceh were waiting for us at the terminal, and we’re delivered to our homestay at Wisma Lampriet, just located oppositely of the office of PLN Wilayah Aceh. PLN Wilayah Aceh office is very modern, beautiful, cool, and once again, Islami … very different with PLN Wilayah Sumatera Utara (WILSU) in Medan which looks old and grim.

I have positive and negative sides to get placed in Aceh: the positive one is that Aceh is very close to Medan, and it’s easy for me to back home. While the negative one is that I have to adapt myself to the rules in Aceh. In Aceh, the Islamic rules are applied in whole part of life. In Banda Aceh, the capital city of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, I could not find the places like cinema, big malls, or massive public transportation like in Medan. And also, no highrise buildings in Banda Aceh, almost all building structures there just have 4 storeys at all. The impressive things about Banda Aceh were its Grand Mosque of Baiturrahman, Museum Tsunami Aceh (one of the most sophisticated museums in Indonesia), Lampuuk Beach, and many coffee shops along the streets. And during the Ramadhan month like now, the shops are closed in the afternoon and reopened at night till 20.00 WIB.During the Tarawih pray, the shops are closed again and reopened after the pray finished.

We started the new official program on Monday, June 22 at PLN Wilayah Aceh office. The program had been started with the introduction of divisions at PLN Wilayah Aceh for 2 days. PLN Wilayah Aceh itself has 6 Area, included Banda Aceh, Lhokseumawe, Langsa, Meulaboh, Subulussalam, and Sigli; with 37 Rayon offices throughout Aceh. Hufft… I was very surprised when the officials of PLN Wilayah Aceh announced that I would get placed at Rayon Singkil, Area Subulussalam. I got the job as Junior Engineer Pengendalian Susut dan PJU pada Seksi Transaksi Energi. As I heard about Singkil from many people, it’s just the capital of Aceh Singkil Regency but it’s a very deserted town with many crocodiles, dirty water, etc. And PLN Rayon Singkil itself is the smallest one among 7 Rayon offices in Area Subulussalam. I hope, Singkil would be the best place for me to start my success in PLN. Amiiin